Recipients of the Distinguished Graduate Award
Each year the National Catholic Educational Association provides St. John the opportunity to honor one of our distinguished graduates. This award provides recognition to Catholic elementary school alumni who have demonstrated personal and professional achievements in their adult lives.
This year, we have chosen a native Fredericktonian who has become a well known individual in our community because of his many accomplishments. An eighth grade graduate of our school in 1949, Mark L. Hoke went on to attend Frederick High School, Washington College, Central Michigan University and enlisted in the U.S. Army where he held the title of Colonel. After 28 years in the military, in 1983, Colonel Hoke was selected to become the 27th Commander of Ft. Detrick where he served until 1986. He was then elected as County Commissioner and served a 4-year term as Vice President of the Board. He left public office in 1990 but returned again to serve another term as Commissioner and Board President until 1998. Since then, he has served as President of the Central Maryland Catholic Charities Advisory Board and serves on the Board of Directors of the Friends of Catholic Education. He is a parishioner of St. Katharine Drexel parish. He also has served as a board member for other organizations, including the United Way and Frederick County Chamber of Commerce. Among his many military decorations, he was awarded the Order of Military Medical Merit and inducted into the United States Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame. Just recently, he was awarded the Daughters of the American Revolution Medal of Honor; their highest award.
In his biography that he submitted for this award, Colonel Hoke noted that his success in college was due to the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic that was part of the school curriculum. And his leadership abilities in both the military and professional organizations were as a result of the self-discipline and integrity that was taught at St. John’s.
